Petroleum Processing
The term petroleum comes from the Latin stems petra, “rock,” and oleum, “oil.” It
is used to describe a broad range of hydrocarbons that are found as gases, liquids,
or solids beneath the surface of the earth.
The two most common forms are natural
gas and crude oil.
Natural gas: Natural gas which is a mixture of lightweight alkanes, accumulates in
porous rocks. A typical sample of natural gas when it is collected at its source contains
about 80% methane (CH4
), 7% ethane (C2
H6
), 6% propane (C3
H8
), 4% butane and
isobutane (C4
H10), and 3% pentanes (C5
H12). The C3
, C4
, and C5
hydrocarbons are
removed before the gas is sold.
The commercial natural gas delivered to the customer
is therefore primarily a mixture of methane and ethane. The propane and butanes
removed from natural gas are usually liquefied under pressure and sold as liquefied
petroleum gases (LPG).
Crude oil is a composite mixture of hydrocarbons (50-95% by weight) occurring
naturally. The first step in refining crude oil involves separating the oil into different
hydrocarbon fractions by distillation. Each fraction is a complex mixture.
For example,
more than 500 different hydrocarbons can be found in the gasoline fraction.
Petroleum is found in many parts of the world which include the Middle East, southern
United States, Mexico, Nigeria and the former Soviet Union.
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